My family member was killed during the mass shooting at FedEx. These tragedies must end.
Today marks the two-year anniversary of a mass shooting that occurred at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis on April 15, 2021 — it was in this shooting that our Sikh community in Indiana lost four of our members, one of whom was a family member. In 2023, there have already been more than 130 mass shootings, and it is only April. Two years later, I am still in mourning to see the tragedies from gun violence. As I reflect on this anniversary, I am reminded of three truths today.
The first is that the pain never goes away. One of the individuals killed was my family member Amarjeet Kaur Johal. That day, Amarjeet wanted to work a double shift so that she could get the following Friday off. Little did we know this would cost her life. Two years later, the toll and emotional burden remains on our community to commemorate the tragedy while our communal desire for security remains unmet.
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The second truth is that such a tragedy is not new to this country and to the Sikh community. The U.S. had 647 mass shootings and more than 44,000 people died due to gun violence in 2022. Meanwhile, the shooting in Indianapolis and the shooting at a gurdwara in Oak Creek 11 years ago are the culmination of decades of anti-Sikh sentiment. The first shooting of a Sikh after 9/11 was of Balbir Singh Sodhi, a turbaned Sikh man living in Mesa, Arizona, who was shot and killed in the first deadly post-9/11 hate crime on Sept. 15, 2001. And yet, the number of anti-Sikh hate crime incidents in a 2021 report by the FBI on hate crimes and bias incidents shows an increase by more than double (108%) from 2020 to 2021. Anti-Sikh hate crimes for 2021 are also the second highest of religiously motivated hate crimes after anti-Jewish incidents.
Sikhs are disproportionately targeted for hate perhaps due to our visible intersectional identity. After every shooting, the media will filter in and out as the news cycle changes. They will publish articles and make note of the impact of gun violence. But the community will pick up the pieces — in the same way our community in Indianapolis did two years ago and continue to this day. While the Oak Creek shooting and the mass shooting at FedEx were nine years apart, they were handled similarly.
My third point: these tragedies are avoidable. On June 25, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — the most significant federal legislation to address gun violence since the expired 10-year assault weapons ban of 1994. On March 14, President Biden issued an executive order to increase the number of background checks before the sale of a firearm. There were a number of legislations that address gun control last year as well — in July, Gov. Gavin Newsom in California signed a package of five bills on gun safety after they were passed by the California State Senate. Other states such as Colorado, Delaware, New York and Washington signed significant gun safety bills.
But Indiana is a different story. After July 1, 2022, a permit or license has not been required to possess or carry a handgun, shotgun or rifle in Indiana. Handguns, shotguns and rifles are allowed in the vehicles of all persons 18 years of age and older who have not been deemed an “improper person” by the state. Communities across the United States continue to suffer under the pattern of targeted violence that has ramped up in the last decade.
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Despite recent progress, the action taken by federal lawmakers has been disproportionately small in the face of violent hate. Indiana needs to step up. This should be a top priority for every single elected official in this country. Enough lives have been lost. Enough blood has been shed. It is time for bold gun reform—from banning assault rifles, to comprehensive mandatory background checks — our elected officials must do better. Around 71% of Americans say that there needs to be stricter gun laws — including half of Republicans, a majority of Democrats and a majority of gun-owning households. The Sikh community and those of us eligible to vote are watching. Komal Kaur Chohan is a special education teacher and law and social work student who has a deep desire to understand trauma-induced addiction. As of last year, she is the founder and president Umeed-Hope, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that brings together and empowers local communities by providing legal and mental health resources to increase the knowledge of and prevent further family violence.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Two years after FedEx shooting, Sikh community still a target for hate
